Greetings!

Well, I just ordered up a set of Russian Cossack Cavalry for deployment on the front with my other Red Army forces.

What colour and paint recipes do you suggest for these Cossack troops?

In a similar vein, I also ordered up some Bolshevik Heroines, Soviet Command Group, and a squad of Siberian Rifleman Infantry, wearing the famous furry hats! These troops are on foot, unlike the Russian Cossacks, which are mounted on swift-moving horses.

I contemplated getting the "Mongolian Cavalry" set from Warlord Games, but I must say, uncharacteristically for Warlord, the Mongolian Cavalry models don't look especially inspiring, and perhaps even a bit silly. Warlord Games does not offer Russian Cossack cavalry, which I had to hunt down from a different company. The Soviet Union, after all, in the Great Patriotic War, used not only Mongolian Cavalry troops, but also the Russian Cossack Cavalry in defending the Motherland from the invaders!

Thus, your suggestions and commentary are welcome!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Greetings!

As a additional, further thought, have any of you used cavalry units in your Bolt Action games? How have you found the cavalry troop's performance on the battlefield to be? Yes, it is my understanding that the cavalry units in Bolt Action have good movement abilities, are able to move and retreat, and have solid close combat ability, in addition to being able to lay down ranged fire. At least according to some of the videos I have watched, some strong Bolt Action players really get a lot of bang out of these kinds of units--considering the cavalry unit's Bolt Action Point Costs.

Historically, despite being seemingly obsolete on a modern battlefield, there were numerous occasions where such tenacious, bold cavalry troops performed quite well in combat operations. Still, however, the looming reality of these kinds of troop forces getting hosed down at long range by modern machine guns and quick-firing artillery inspires in me a kind of incongruous disbelief and apprehension in using them, and a kind of black humour in deploying them to the front.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Obviously Poland, in the first weeks of the war.  This should be well documented.

But probably also of use in the South, in the Caucasus, as scouting units, during the initial invasion, and also later around Sevastopol.  I've not read of these, but it make sense to me.  Horse mounted units can make good use of very rough terrain like the mountains south of the caucasus. 

Adjust the rules to WW1 and fight the Turks in the mountains !

Possibly good use in partisan activities as well.  perfect for bolt action as its very small unit.

Quote from: orbitalair on July 05, 2024, 09:35:29 AMObviously Poland, in the first weeks of the war.  This should be well documented.

But probably also of use in the South, in the Caucasus, as scouting units, during the initial invasion, and also later around Sevastopol.  I've not read of these, but it make sense to me.  Horse mounted units can make good use of very rough terrain like the mountains south of the caucasus. 

Adjust the rules to WW1 and fight the Turks in the mountains !

Possibly good use in partisan activities as well.  perfect for bolt action as its very small unit.

Greetings!

Yes, quite right, my friend! The Russians used extensive cavalry forces throughout the war--though especially in fighting in the Ukraine, the Crimea, and the Caucasus regions. The German Wehrmacht also deployed Wehrmacht Cavalry Divisions. Somewhere along the way, the Germans disbanded their cavalry troops and reformed them into the 24th Panzer Division. Not long afterwards, however, the Germans found that yes, cavalry forces were not obsolete, and were in fact very useful to have in your force roster, and so, they gathered up volunteers, instructors, and so on, and formed several new cavalry divisions. Indeed, the Wehrmacht used cavalry forces extensively in anti-partisan operations, and security operations.

I think that the Bulgarians, the Romanians, the Hungarians, the Croatians, and also the Italians all used cavalry forces throughout the war.

In the east, the Japanese used cavalry forces in China and on the Manchurian frontiers, especially.

Here is a nice soundtrack I am using while building and painting some Russian Cossack forces!


The music, the scenery, the awesome Russian singing is very motivating! Definitely gets me in the right mind set.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK